I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gripper assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gripper assembly for gripping a workpiece for use with a workpiece holder wherein the gripper assembly comprises a multi-directional mounting member readily removable from the gripper assembly.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, a gripper assembly for use with a workpiece holding device comprises a fluid operating portion and a workpiece gripper portion. The gripper assembly is mounted to the workpiece holder by means such as a ball and socket coupling. A gripper assembly of the general type with which the present invention is concerned is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/563,253. The device disclosed in that patent includes a gripper assembly having a ball permanently mounted to the gripper for mounting the gripper assembly to the workpiece holder device.
A disadvantage of this type of assembly is that the mount is permanently affixed to the gripper assembly. Therefore, if the gripper assembly needs to be limited in movement and, as such, mounted to the workpiece holder by a different coupling, the gripper assembly must be removed and replaced by a whole new gripper assembly.
Further, if a different workpiece gripper is called for, the workpiece gripper portion of the gripper assembly may not be removed and replaced. Instead, a whole new gripper assembly with its corresponding mount and gripper portion must be provided. This can be costly and time-consuming as replacement of the gripper assembly requires a temporary shutdown of a conveyor system in which it is being used.